Few words are more often confused than affect and effect. We would venture to guess that most people have had to think this through at least once - two or three times for us non-Mensa members. “Affect” is almost always a verb, as in, “Smartphones affect people’s social skills”; “effect” is almost always a noun, as in “Smartphones can have a negative effect on social skills.” “Affect means to influence or produce an impression – to cause an effect. Effect is result by whatever is affecting a thing; it describes the outcome. Oy, this explanation is affecting us by having a dizzying effect on our cerebral space, or what’s left of it!

As is often the case with English there are some exceptions, but just remember that affect is usually a verb, and effect is usually a noun, except when they’re not. 😉